Ten Faces
by Klefki
Summary: AU. The Doctor is a face-changing alien and the star of the Master's twisted circus. He escapes and now lives a simple life on Earth. Will the ghosts of his past catch up with him? Will his new found friends accept the truth about him?
1. Chapter 1

AN: Hope you like this story, please review if you want to see more chapters!

* * *

On a distant world, many people were getting mobbed trying to get into what is possibly one of the greatest circuses in existence. It was called Tempus Circus and it was owned by the ringmaster himself who would address himself as "The Master."

The Master was a master at putting on some of the greatest acts. He enslaved certain species to participate in a few of his acts. It was a standard night for the Tempus Circus. Crowds gathered and sat down as the circus was starting. A spotlight shone on the Master.

"I welcome you all to Tempus Circus! I have some great acts for you tonight as well as one of our most popular acts!" The Master greeted his audience. The first act of the circus was the trapeze of terror. The performers had to time their swings, so they couldn't get burned by the flying fireballs and the net that usually catches the performers if they slip, was lit on fire. The Master was a cruel and twisted man, he's had almost forty deaths this year on his circus. He captured species that were deemed inferior to many of the planets he visits, so no one bats an eye when they see a death.

Backstage, two men were plotting to figure out a way to escape this nightmare. The Master had tight security when it came to his enslaved performers. He controls these spheres he calls the Toclafane to wipe out anyone who dares escape.

"You've been working on this certain something for two years, Doc. It better work."

"It should." He replied.

The Master's voice rang on the intercom, "Jack report to the ring."

The first man, Jack gritted his teeth, "Another day where kids throw knives at me, great."

Jack, or Captain Jack Harkness was a genetic experiment who was left with a case of immortality. Unfortunately, he was human. Human strength can't even match many other species. Every circus, Jack would get stabbed, burned, frozen, drown and he would keep coming back to life complete with his limbs reattached. The Master would allow audience members to kill him. Every time Jack died it hurt like hell. He would phase out and phase back in.

The Doctor was a being who could change his face, body, everything. He only had nine faces to choose from at the moment. Each of these different bodies had different quirks such as Two's tendency to play the recorder to concentrate and Four's love of jelly babies. No matter how different he looked or behaved, he was still the Doctor to his closest friends.

Currently, the Doctor was in his ninth form trying to set his plan into action tonight. Hopefully, this would be his last act in Tempus Circus.

After fifteen minutes of hell, Jack came back and there was a knife sticking out of his back.

"Just got back from hell. You're up next, Doc." Jack reminded. The Doctor stared at the knife lodged in Jack's back.

"Lemme guess? Knife?"

"Yeah, I'll get it out." The Doctor pulled it out and Jack cringed.

The Doctor headed out to the ring for what should be his last time. The Master spoke, "Creatures of all shapes and sizes, this is our one and only face-changing alien! Can all nine of him survive tonight?" the crowd screamed. The Doctor was the most popular act to see as the Master would put him through chambers with deadly gases, lock him in a cage with a ferocious beast, or attempt to drown him. The Master wanted the Doctor to writhe and suffer, but he would never actually outright kill him directly. It was an odd prospect.

Tonight's act featured him in a labyrinth of sorts. The Master spoke to the audience, "The Doctor needs to get to the end of the labyrinth in under ten minutes. Can he make it through? The spikes on the hedges are poisoned. The poison will kill him in less than ten seconds."

The Doctor was running through the labyrinth and noticed that each path lead to a dead end, but wait… there were these targets stationed at different locations, but in out of reach positions. He got an idea. He started to glow a golden color.

The Master spoke, "The Doctor is shifting into one of his faces. Let's see which one."

The Doctor's hair grew longer and a blond color. He wore special clothes that would change to suit his body. His outfit turned into a cream colored coat and he wore a stick of celery on his lapel.

"It's Five, everyone! This version of him is great at playing cricket, but the celery's an odd choice." The Master commented.

The Doctor grabbed a cricket ball from his pocket and with a careful aim, he threw it at the target. The target revealed another path. He ran into a more open area and saw three robotic men. Alright, he knew which one could handle these. He changed once more and became Three.

"Three and Cybermen everyone! Will Three get deleted?"

The Cybermen were saying "Delete" in their monotone voice. Three could defend himself with his artful skill of Venusian aikido. He might be older looking, but he was very spry. Even Jack did not want to get in a fight with the Doctor if Three was involved. The Doctor placed some powerful kicks on the Cybermen and managed to make them junk. He was running and he saw the end in sight. He saw that there was a huge hole that could not be avoided. The bottom of it was too steep with sharp rocks. Looking around, he saw something that looked like a hook on the roof. If only he had a rope, wait a sec, maybe a twenty foot long scarf would do…

Breathing again, he transformed into Four. Four was just unconventional when it came to his personality and his methods. He remembered this one time he accidently changed into Four instead of Three when it came to fighting yesterday's mummies. He dressed one of them with his floppy hat and scarf and the other mummy was unintelligent enough to hit the other. Taking off his scarf, he aimed for the hook, took a running start and swung across. He put his scarf back on and ran to the end. He was greeted by the faces in the audience and the Master spoke, "The Doctor has survived today, but how about tomorrow? Join us tomorrow!" The crowd went wild and the Doctor went back to his room to put his plan into action.

Jack came in and whispered, "What time?"

"2 a.m.," he whispered back. Jack smiled at the curly-haired Doctor.

At 2 a.m., the circus was under heavy surveillance outside, Jack wondered what exactly the Doctor planned. He went to the Doctor's room and found his friend in his ninth form.

Jack commented, "Why exactly does the Master hate this you?"

"Just not as fun to him. He doesn't like a guy who can look just as menacing if not more than him."

"So, what's the plan Doc?" Jack asked. The Doctor grabbed a small chest and opened it with a key and a combination lock. It contained two keys, two patches, and a mysterious bottle.

He gave Jack a key, "This is a really powerful perception filter, Toclafane shouldn't notice ya" he handed him the patch, "This gives you the ability to warp to a destination once you're out of the control field that surrounds the circus. It only works once, though."

Jack spotted the bottle, "Is this a drink to celebrate?" he teased.

"No, it's for me. I'm unique, so that means the Master can track me. You're human enough to blend in, so don't worry. The tracker picks up on all my current selves, but not one that hasn't been created yet."

"You're gonna?" Jack hesitated.

"I'll have to create my tenth self." He gritted. Creating a new version of him was very painful and he could end up with very bad amnesia like he did with Eight or cause him to go into a mad rage like Six.

"Let's get this plan in action." The Doctor said.

The two wore the keys and headed outside. The Doctor used his trusty sonic screwdriver to disable the sensors for a bit. Jack noticed that the Toclafane spheres did not bother to stop them. The two traveled for a half mile and that's when security noticed that there were two performers missing. The sirens were blaring, but the control field's end was within sight. The two were running.

"Two hundred meters left and they should work!" The Doctor said. He grabbed the strangely colored bottle and opened it.

"You're taking it now?" Jack questioned.

"It's no good if I warp first, then take it. He'll trace my location."

The two finally got out of the field and the Doctor stared at the bottle.

"Well, Doctor. I think we part ways here. Take care wherever you are. I want to see how my old life is doing." Jack saluted. He pressed the patch and warped across space.

The Doctor was staring at the potion, and knew it was time. He grabbed it with both hand and forced down every drop. His body was erupting in fire, it hurt so much. He could feel his insides changing as well. His hair was growing a bit longer, his ears shrunk, face changing to a different shape and his body getting much thinner. His outfit was changing too, he didn't know what kind, but his coat felt longer. After the change, he felt very light headed and decided to warp.

"Please take me somewhere where I can start again." He thought to himself.


	2. Chapter 2

The Doctor landed somewhere. He wasn't sure where and worst yet he was very vulnerable. His new form ached. Creating a new form always did that to him. He got up from the ground and noticed that he was in an alleyway. His vision was failing him, and he felt like fading in and out of consciousness as he stumbled through the alleyway into in a road. He grasped his head in pain and walked into a random place. The place had some small tables and chairs with humans he noted. An old white haired man noticed the Doctor and saw that he was in pain.

"Are you alright there?" he asked and walked over.

"Head hurts," the Doctor muttered.

"You look like you could use a cuppa. It helps my headaches too." He chuckled.

"Cuppa what?" asked the Doctor.

"Tea, of course. I'd be glad to get you one. Just hold on, this place has some of the best tea in London!" the old man went to the cash register and ordered some tea for the strange man he met. He came back with a paper cup with a tea bag and a bit of steam was coming off of it.

"Here, go on try it." He gave the Doctor the cup. The Doctor sniffed it and noted that this new body has a much keener sense of smell. The tea was brewed from black tea leaves and had a bit of vanilla and honey in it. He sipped it and the pain was ebbing away.

The Doctor thanked the man, "Thanks for that tea. I feel a bit better now. Just what I needed too. Gets the synapses going especially that bit of caffeine will wake you up. I don't think I've had this kind of tea at all. Funny thing tea, it's pretty much hot leaf juice. Now that just sounds gross," the Doctor noticed that he was dragging the conversation out, "Sorry about that, I didn't know I could ramble on like this."

"This version is going to be really chatty" he thought.

The man introduced himself, "Name's Wilfred Mott. I sell papers out in the city to make a few extra bucks. You just look like a fellow who's had a hard day, just thought you could use a cheerin' up."

"Thank you, Wilf. How can I repay you for the tea?" the Doctor offered.

"Oh, you don't have to do something back."

"No, I insist."

"Well… I have these papers that need delivered to these places here," Wilfred handed the Doctor some newspapers and a small map with the destinations marked as stars. "Oh, I didn't get your name, young man."

"Oh, I'm uh…" the Doctor thought what was a common name for a man from London, "John Smith, Dr. John Smith." He shook hands with Wilfred.

"Thank you for helping me then, Doctor. I always sell papers around here." He waved goodbye as the Doctor was leaving.

The tea really helped out the Doctor. He felt like he had his head together now and he wanted to see what he looked like. Hopefully he wasn't old, being old has some benefits like people treating you with more respect, but achy joints really hindered it.

After what seems to be three hours, the sun was down already. The Doctor thought, "I need to take a job or something. And a place to live…"

The Doctor was just walking around the city to familiarize himself with the area. He heard a noise in the alleyway. He saw a young woman being violated by a guy who looks a few years older and he had a couple other friends with him. The guy spoke, "I know you've been wanting this since we've met." He grabbed her hand by the wrist and the girl was struggling. She ripped her hand out of his hold and tried to get away. The three guys backed her up into a wall. The three surrounded her. She closed her eyes to brace herself for what was going to come. Then, she felt a hand grab her. She looked up to see a man in a long coat and he said, "Run!"

The two ran away from the three guys and the Doctor looked behind him and saw that they were being chased. The Doctor ran with the girl and she points "In there!" The two went down and found themselves in the subway. The girl gave the worker the subway fare and they hopped on the subway.

The two were crouching down to avoid being seen by those three. He took out his sonic screwdriver and soniced the subway doors, so the goons couldn't get in. The subway finally started moving and the girl says, "I think we can lift our heads now."

The Doctor sees that she is a young human woman possibly in her early twenties. She had blonde hair, brown eyes, and she was wearing a grey top with a light jacket and jeans. She spoke up, "Thank you for that. My head hurts right now, but that's the least of my worries."

"Just focus and take some deep breaths." The Doctor advised.

"Thanks for helping me back there, my name's Rose."

"I'm uh- Smith, John Smith."  
"Shut up, no one's called John Smith." She teased.

"I am no one," he admonished. A couple seconds pass, "So, is your head feeling better?" he asked.

"I think they put something in my drink. This was supposed to be a girl's night out, but my one friend left with a strange guy and then this one guy keeps coming onto me."

"It's not your fault that happened to you."

"Thanks."

"The drug inside your system might be hallucinogenic, just stay with me."

"My vision feels a bit fuzzier than normal."

"What color is my hair?" he asked. _I really hope that it is ginger. _

"It's a sort of brown." She stated.

He sighed in disappointment and grabbed a little piece of it in front his eyes, "Not even a bit ginger in the slightest?"

"No, it's a medium brown."

He puffed in defeat. _Ten faces and none are ginger. I can run really well though and sense of smell and taste seem to be very exceptional. Skinny as a twig though, that's new I guess. _

"So, what do you do for a living?" Rose asked him.

_Survive every day and make sure the Master will never find me. _"I'm a doctor of sorts."

"Doctor of what?"

"Bit of everything, I suppose. I never told you that I'm very clever. I have doctorates in astronomy, temporal physics, chemistry, and even cheese-making."

"Cheese-making? They don't have a doctorate for that."

"They do! Just not here."

She smiled and laughed. The subway stopped and she notices that she is at her destination.

"Oh, that's my stop. Why don't you come up to my flat with me? My mum might be home, but you should stop by for maybe a snack or somethin'."

"I don't really get along well with mothers."  
"She's my mum, I'm sure she'd like to meet the guy who saved me." She took his hand and brought him to the estates where she lived.

"Mum, I'm home! I brought a friend with me, I hope you don't mind." Rose said as she walked inside holding the Doctor's hand.

"Who's this, Rose?" An older woman with blonde hair asked.

"Smith, John Smith." The Doctor introduced.

"Why don't you make yourself comfortable and watch some telly. I want to talk with my daughter." Jackie said.

Rose and her mum went into the kitchen.

"This guy you brought home is quite the looker."

"Oh, mum don't."

"Well, I'm just saying. How'd you two meet?"

"Me and a friend were going to the local pub. She went home with a guy and left me. These guys took advantage of me, but John helped me get away from them."

"I feel like giving him a little something to eat as a way of saying thanks to keeping my daughter safe."

The Doctor wandered around the flat for a mirror. _What do I even look like? I really want to see for myself! _

He looked around the living room and saw a mirror. It was strange to not recognize the face staring back. _Not too old, not too young looking. Ooh sideburns, brilliant! _He stroked them considerably. He looked at his clothes next. He noticed the long tan trench coat with the brown pinstriped suit underneath. _Brown may not be bad, I kinda like it now. _

Rose came in the room and asked, "Would you like something to eat? Mum insists. If you have to go back I understand."

"Thanks, I don't have a place to stay tonight. I just sorta moved here." The Doctor admitted.

Jackie came in and heard, "Why don't you just spend tonight here then? Just make yourself comfy on the couch, we've got some blankets and pillows for ya."

"I'm not actually that hungry, but thank you." He said.

The two women left him in the living room and the Doctor took off some of his layers until he was only clad in his suit trousers. He fell asleep that night peacefully. This was the first night he didn't sleep in a smelly cot in that circus.


End file.
